AGN -Chapter 259 Your Lifeline Has Been Beside You All Along

Not only was Qu Jing stunned, but Qin Huai was also completely taken aback.

Qin Huai had never truly believed that Luo Jun’s private investigator could actually locate Qu Jing’s parents from her previous life. Even though spirits stood right in front of him, and every one of them undeniably had past and present lives—and even though he himself possessed a system—to Qin Huai, past lives still felt like something distant and intangible, almost unreal.

Qu Jing’s expression froze. It was a strange mix of simplicity and complexity, her face filled with disbelief. She sat motionless for a long while, as if her mind had lagged, before finally asking in a daze:

“You… found them?”

For Luo Jun, this was undoubtedly a rather silly question, considering he had literally just said he had found them.

Still, he nodded patiently.

“Yes. And based on the identity verification, they are indeed your parents from your previous life.”

A sudden wave of fear washed over Qu Jing. She had countless questions, yet she didn’t dare ask any of them. Qin Huai and Chen Huihong wisely remained silent.

“Are they… doing well?” Qu Jing finally asked.

“They’re doing fairly well,” Luo Jun replied. “According to the information, their lives are comfortable, and they’re in reasonably good health.”

“After your suicide, they adopted a child from a distant relative’s family. Her name is Chen Tingting.”

Qu Jing froze again.

Qin Huai was equally bewildered.

Wait… hasn’t the name Chen Tingting come up before? Why do both of you look like this is someone incredibly important? Why can’t I remember her at all?

He racked his brain, trying to recall who Chen Tingting was.

The video call fell into silence once again.

“Sorry, I know this is a bit abrupt,” Chen Huihong finally said, unable to hold back, “but could someone explain who Chen Tingting is?”

Qu Jing quickly adjusted her expression, though traces of shock still lingered in her voice.

“She was my middle school Chinese teacher.”

“It was Teacher Chen who first discovered that I was self-harming. She thought I was being abused at the orphanage and called the police. Even after I transferred schools, she often visited me at the orphanage. We haven’t kept in touch much over the years, but she is a truly wonderful person.”

Luo Jun continued.

“Since you’ve accepted that, I’ll go on.”

“Qu Jing, besides regularly volunteering at the orphanage, do you also volunteer monthly at a nursing home?”

Qu Jing nodded.

“Your hospital has a medical partnership with Chaoxi Nursing Home. That’s the nursing home where you volunteer most often, correct?”

She nodded again.

“The director of Chaoxi Nursing Home has the surname Chen.”

This time, Qu Jing’s nod slowed.

“You probably never paid attention to his full name. His name is Chen Dexing. In his generation, he is the third brother. His elder brothers are Chen Dehui and Chen Dezhou.”

“He is your third uncle.”

Qu Jing went completely still.

“In your previous life, your name was Chen Shen’ai. Your parents named you after Wang Shen’ai, the granddaughter of Wang Xizhi.”

“You were their only child—an excellent student, the very model of the perfect child. Until your mental collapse, you were exactly the kind of daughter every family wished for.”

“But later, trapped by memories of your past life, you descended into madness and eventually took your own life. Your parents always blamed themselves. They felt they had failed to give you an auspicious name.”

“In history, Wang Shen’ai died at the age of twenty-nine, consumed by fear and anxiety. You didn’t even live that long.”

“So when they later adopted a daughter, they gave her a very simple name, hoping she would grow up safe, healthy, and at peace.”

“My parents… then…” Qu Jing asked urgently.

“You’ve actually met them,” Luo Jun said.

“On February 17 last year; on March 19, May 18, and July 24 the year before; and on May 12, June 27, September 30, and November 11 the year before that—you met them on all those occasions.”

“Like you, they volunteer at the nursing home. The reason you chose to study medicine in this life was because both of your parents were doctors in your previous life. At the nursing home, you’ve even worked alongside them, helping examine the elderly residents.”

“In fact, you may have met them even when you were a child at the orphanage. A collection of children’s books there was donated by your mother.”

“Do you remember?”

Luo Jun looked directly at Qu Jing.

It was as if Qu Jing’s mind had just exploded. She stood there in a daze, unable to respond, her thoughts clearly racing through old memories.

“It would be perfectly normal if you didn’t recognize them. At that time, you hadn’t recovered your memories. And after you did, they were still no more than passing strangers in this life.”

“Honestly, after you woke up and told us about your first life, I kept thinking—your tribulation was absurdly difficult.”

“You’re only a Quju bird, not some divine phoenix. The difficulty of your trial was practically on the level of violating heavenly law.”

“If my tribulation failed, that was my own fault. If Chen Huihong failed hers, well, that’s because she can be a bit dim.”

“But if you had failed yours… that would have been profoundly unfair.”

“Before Qin Huai finished looking through your memories, even I had no idea how you could possibly succeed in overcoming your tribulation in this final life. You said Qin Huai was your lifeline, but even then, I didn’t think so. And now, I’m even more certain.”

“Your lifeline has been by your side all along.”

“Arrogance comes at a price. Selfishness can be dissolved by warmth. Resentment can be healed by love. But what can resolve love itself?”

“The answer is: even more love.”

“Compared to most spirits undergoing tribulation, the amount of love you’ve received in every lifetime is honestly almost absurd.”

“Even your lifeline has been hanging right beside you all these years, waiting for you to reach out.”

“I’ve already done the research for you. Your Teacher Chen likes nectarines. Her daughter prefers cherries. Your father likes navel oranges. Your mother loves apples. Your third uncle only likes dried persimmons, and your second uncle prefers melons.”

“After you return from your holiday, don’t forget to stop by my place and pick up a fruit gift box. I’m sure Teacher Chen will be delighted to see, during the New Year, that the student who once transferred schools because of psychological struggles and self-harm has completely transformed—healthy, thriving, with a stable career, a bright future, and carrying a fruit gift box that every member of her family will love as she comes to pay her New Year respects.”

With that, Luo Jun concluded his performance.

After listening quietly, Qu Jing smiled. She said nothing more except: “Thank you, Mr. Luo. I’ll arrange leave in advance and go back early.”

Then she left the video call to collect herself.

Only after Qu Jing had exited did Chen Huihong resume cracking sunflower seeds. She looked somewhat worried.

“Luo Jun, was it really a good idea to dump all that information on her at once? What if Jingjing, after finally succeeding in her tribulation, develops a new inner demon after meeting her parents from her previous life and fails all over again? Qin Huai can’t exactly dig up new memories and cook her back to sanity again.”

Luo Jun rolled his eyes.

“Chen Huihong, could you use your brain for once? Didn’t I just say it? Her parents from her previous life are her true lifeline. Have you ever heard of a spirit succeeding in a tribulation because of their lifeline, only to fail again because of it?”

“Using shortcuts to overcome a tribulation is never a good idea. Unless Qu Jing plans to die tomorrow, if she still has unresolved attachments in her heart, there’s always a chance she could fail again someday.”

“That makes sense,” Chen Huihong said, nodding in agreement. “Staying alive in the human world really is risky. Better to just die directly.”

Luo Jun stared at her, utterly speechless.

“And you have the nerve to say that? Aren’t you living perfectly well right now?”

“My situation is different,” Chen Huihong replied matter-of-factly. “I have to watch my Huihui grow up and leave her a substantial inheritance. I can’t die yet.”

Qin Huai: …

You spirits who’ve successfully passed your tribulations really do toss around the phrase ‘go die’ awfully casually.

I suppose when you’ve reincarnated several times before, dying starts to feel routine.

“…So spirits don’t have the same name in every lifetime?” Qin Huai finally said, setting aside his internal complaints. “I honestly thought Qu Jing had been called Qu Jing in every life.”

“Of course not,” Chen Huihong explained. “Normally, only the first life and the final life share the same name. It’s like a little hint from Heaven, a way to help spirits resolve their lingering attachments through a familiar name.”

“In my second life, I didn’t even have a name. In the life where I died from overwork, I was called Wang Eryuan, and my older sister was Wang Dayuan.”

“Though speaking of names, Luo Jun, yours is actually pretty decent. Before I passed my tribulation, there was a senior in our clan whose first-life name was Li Gousheng. In his final life, he had to pass his tribulation with that exact name.”

“After he succeeded, he repeatedly warned all of us to choose our names carefully. If you fail your tribulation, at least your final life should end with a name that sounds respectable.”

Luo Jun: “…Can you plant spirits stop teaching such bizarre nonsense and focus on something actually useful?”

“You mean your elders never warned you about that?” Chen Huihong shot back.

“…They did.”

“See? I told you. A name is important. Even if you die, you should die with dignity.”

Luo Jun, utterly defeated, left the video call.

Seeing that only the two of them remained in what had once been a lively group chat, Chen Huihong sighed.

“Jingjing has found her lifeline. I wonder what mine is.”

“It can’t possibly be you, Little Qin, can it?”

Qin Huai fell silent as well.

“Maybe… Sister Hong, tribulations for plant spirits are just like that—failed in confusion, succeeded in confusion. Maybe the whole ‘lifeline’ thing doesn’t really matter for you.”

After saying that, Qin Huai also exited the video call.